Wearing stilettos and full makeup, Courtney and Brittany Force don't look like the kind of women who speed down drag strips exceeding 300 mph. Casual observers would never guess their designer handbags held racing licenses.

But for John Force's youngest daughters, being feminine in a man's field is the norm.

"We're not mechanical girls. We took auto shop in high school, but we were also cheerleaders, so we try to get the best of both worlds," said Courtney, who, along with her sister Brittany, will kick off the National Hot Rod Association Mello Yello Drag Racing series at Pomona's Winternationals this weekend by strapping into an 8,000-horsepower machine and careening down 1,000 feet of pavement in about four seconds.

Courtney, 24, is the youngest of legendary racer John Force's four daughters. In Pomona, she'll start her second pro season behind the wheel of a funny car; she was named NHRA's rookie of the year last season and finished fifth overall in a field of 20.Brittany, 26, will compete for the first time in the Top Fuelcategory. In each class, about 10 percent of the racers are female.

"I've been watching Tony Schumacher and some of these other guys for years, and now I'll be in the lane next to them," said Brittany, the first in the Force family to race Top Fuel. In the season lead-up, she's been getting pointers from national Top Fuel record holder Antron Brown and practicing launches that produce NASA-caliber G forces.

Like their older sister Ashley, now retired from drag racing, Courtney and Brittany aren't just leveraging the Force name. They're perpetuating its winning reputation and, in doing so, bringing new audiences to a sport that has long lived in the shadow of NASCAR.

"Little girls come up to us saying they want to be race-car drivers," Brittany said. "We bring in a lot of kids."

And their moms.

"It used to be all men at the ropes," said Courtney. "Husbands are out there all the time with their kids, but now the wives are coming out because they have a girl to cheer on. It's cool to have female fans. It's become a family sport."

For the Force women, drag racing has always been a family sport. They grew up at the race track and at John Force Racing — a sprawling Yorba Linda compound containing so many cars, trophies and memorabilia cases that it looks like a museum, and actually is being turned into one. Their main race shop is now located in Indianapolis.

It's here that the Force daughters got their first whiff of nitromethane fuel and the cacophonous speeds it enables. Courtney was in kindergarten when she sat in a funny car for the first time, at Yorba Linda's Travis Ranch Elementary School, the day her dad came for show and tell.

"He said, 'This is a helmet,' and he shoved the helmet on my head. I was thinking, 'I can't breathe,' and then he shoved me in the seat," said Courtney, who, at that time, enjoyed playing with remote-control cars as much as Barbies.

At 16, both girls followed up on their regular California driver's licenses with racing licenses acquired through Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School, but they didn't compete professionally until after college. Their parents wouldn't let them race until they graduated from Cal State Fullerton. Courtney has a degree in communications, Brittany a B.A. in English, as well as a teaching credential, though it's unlikely either of them will pursue their degreed fields.

"I couldn't imagine not being out on the road and going to the races," Brittany said. "It's our life. It's our second home. We've grown up around it forever."

Neither Courtney nor Brittany feel they had enough time with their dad as kids. He was often on the road racing. But what took their dad away from them as children has brought them back together as adults — even on the same drag strip.

Courtney will race her dad in the Funny Car series this year. Last year, she beat him twice.

Daughters Courtney, 24, left, and Brittany, 26, right, pose with their father, legendary racer John Force, at the John Force Racing corporate headquarters in Yorba Linda on Feb. 5. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Brittany Force, left, will be driving a fuel dragster in the Top Fuel class at the NHRA Winternationals. Courtney Force, right, will be driving in the Funny Car class. She has previously driven the Ford Mustang funny car behind her. It has 8,000 horsepower and can reach 300 mph in four seconds. Both of their current cars were being prepared at the Force shop in Indianapolis. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Courtney Force has driven this Traxxas Ford Mustang funny car, which has 8,000 horsepower and can reach 300 mph in four seconds. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Yorba Linda natives Brittany and Courtney Force, daughters of legendary racer John Force, will be racing at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona Thursday through Sunday. Brittany races a fuel dragster, Courtney a funny car. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
This year Brittany Force, 26, left, is gunning to win the NHRA rookie of the year award, which was won last year by sister Courtney, 24, right. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Brittany Force has raced this fuel dragster. She will race in the Top Fuel class in NHRA competition. The car she will compete in this year was being prepared at the Force shop in Indianapolis. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Courtney and Brittany Force sit on one of the great cars driven in the past by their father, legendary racer John Force, at their Yorba Linda headquarters. The car is one of Force's first funny cars, the 1976 Brute Force Chevy Monza. He earned the nickname “Brute Force” from fellow drivers on the NHRA circuit. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Brittany Force has raced this fuel dragster. She will race in the Top Fuel class in NHRA competition. The car she will compete in this year was being prepared at the Force shop in Indianapolis. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Yorba LInda natives Brittany and Courtney Force, daughters of legendary racer John Force, will be racing at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona Thursday through Sunday. Brittany races a fuel dragster, Courtney a funny car. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Courtney Force won the NHRA rookie of the year award last year and is back at the Winternationals in Pomona Thursday through Sunday. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Brittany Force is serious about trying to win the NHRA rookie of the year award in 2013. She will be racing in the Top Fuel class at the Winternationals in Pomona Thursday through Sunday. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Courtney and Brittany force look overs some of the legendary cars on display at the John Force Racing corporate headquarters in Yorba Linda. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Yorba LInda natives Brittany and Courtney Force, daughters of legendary racer John Force, will be racing at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona Thursday through Sunday. Brittany races a fuel dragster, Courtney a funny car. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Brittany Force, left, will be driving a fuel dragster in the Top Fuel class at the NHRA Winternationals. Courtney Force, right, will be driving in the Funny Car class. She has previously driven the Ford Mustang funny car behind her. It has 8,000 horsepower and can reach 300 mph in four seconds. Both of their current cars were being worked on at the Force shop in Indianapolis. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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